


I Got You

by TigStripe



Series: Inspired by Leo Rising [6]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Heroic Barry, Inspired by Music, M/M, One Shot, Polyamory, Supportive Oliver, Thoughtful Tommy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 13:18:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17468327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigStripe/pseuds/TigStripe
Summary: When you're part of a three-way relationship where the members all lead very different lives, it can be harrowing at times. Luckily, Barry, Tommy, and Oliver have got this whole "living life together" thing down to a science.Inspired by Karmin's final album,Leo Rising.





	I Got You

The lab was stacked high with backlogged cases, but that was something Barry had expected after taking a long weekend with Oliver and Tommy. He sifted through boxes of evidence and chemical analyses, documenting everything appropriately and running them to the filing station as necessary. It took him his entire morning, but he was able to dive through about half of the stockpiled boxes littered around the room before lunch.

“Knock, knock.”

Barry looked up from his current task to see the handsome mug of one Tommy Merlyn leaning against the door frame leading out of the room. His jacket was slung over his shoulder with one hand, and a considerable bag of what looked like Chinese takeout weighed down the other. He was trying to look devilishly handsome, with that almost smug smirk of his and his eyebrows doing silly things they shouldn’t. Barry just rolled his eyes and waved him in.

“You _did_ remember to stop for lunch, right?” Tommy asked, taking a long gander around at all the remaining boxes. “Wow. Did all of these really stack up over two extra days off?”

Barry’s chuckle was strained. “Yeah. They didn’t bother to mention that Walt was off those days, too, so the overflow decided to double on us.” He leaned up to kiss Tommy, but his eyes lingered on the bag in his hand first.

“Well, I’ve got house fried rice, lo mein, like seven extra crab rangoon, and five egg rolls,” Tommy said as he sat the sack up on a small clear space on Barry’s desk.

Barry eyed the sack, his stomach grumbling. “That’s amazing. You’re a life saver.”

“What did you expect? I’ve got you covered.”

“What did you get for you?” Barry winked.

“You jest, but I did get something different for me,” Tommy replied. He leaned down and kissed Barry on the forehead. “I got to see my boyfriend. That’s all I need.”

“You had a business lunch earlier,” Barry guessed.

Tommy grinned. “It’s actually in an hour, but close.” He leaned against the desk as Barry dug into the boxes in front of him. “Are you gonna be going home late tonight?”

Barry shrugged. “Maybe. Depends on what kind of load the afternoon brings in.”

“Well, I’ll make sure to have something ready for you when you get back to the apartment. Can’t leave you wanting.”

“Sweet of you. You’re staying the night tonight?” Barry snapped up a rangoon and popped it into his mouth, looking up at Tommy with bright, happy eyes.

Tommy chuckled at the sight. “Unless you’re sick of me,” he said, taking an egg roll and taking a large chunk out of it.

“Hey. That’s mine,” Barry laughed. He reached for Tommy’s hand, but the businessman pulled away with a playful grin.

“You’re gonna have to catch me, Copper!” Tommy made a mad dash around the room, chased unconvincingly by Barry, both of them laughing until Barry tripped on a stray test tube, crashing to the floor.

Within moments, Barry was being pulled up by his shoulders. “I’ve got you,” Tommy said. “You okay?”

Heat rose into Barry’s cheeks. It wasn’t every day he made a fool of himself in front of Tommy. “Yeah. I guess I should clean up before I hurt myself.”

Tommy helped him to his feet. They stood quietly for a moment, inches apart, as they took in each other’s features. Barry could still feel the heat in his cheeks, but seeing Tommy’s eyes looking up at him brought a calm in his chest he couldn’t explain. The man’s eyes were such a dull gray, yet so warm and lively. Just looking into them made Barry forget about the boxes surrounding them.

“You should probably eat,” Tommy said, his voice hushed. “Also, someone could walk in on us. Wouldn’t want to be unprofessional, would we?”

A tickle rose up through Barry’s chest and escaped as a chuckle. “I guess.”

Tommy led Barry back to the desk, but not before taking his hand. “You were so red,” he mused. “A little embarrassed of a trip, are we?”

“It’s okay to be clumsy,” Barry countered. He patted Tommy on the head as he sat back down. “It’s not okay to be short.”

“I’m not short,” Tommy muttered, his lips curling with the taste of salt. “You and Oliver are just stupidly tall.”

“You’re cute when you get mad over things you have no control over,” Barry said, spinning his chair around before returning to his meal.

“Uh huh.”

“You’re also cute when you’re not,” Barry offered. “Pretty much all the time, really.”

“Uh huh.” A smile. Barry counted it a victory.

“I’ve gotta get out of here,” Tommy said, bending down and kissing Barry on the head. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Sure thing,” Barry called as the other man headed for the door. “Go take on the world, babe!”

Tommy grinned over his shoulder as he walked out, leaving Barry to his lunch.

 

The sound of hard soled shoes echoed through the green room as Tommy paced the floor, wringing his hands around the small speech in his grasp. It was almost time, and he felt like he hadn’t just spent five hours rehearsing. He could _read_ his speech; why was he so nervous?

The answer was simple: every local media outlet in Star City would be watching him. Hundreds of thousands of people, not just those within the city, could witness his fumbles. If this didn’t go perfectly, he could be a laughing stock. The Merlyn That Failed. Ugh.

His heart beat furiously in his chest and his sweat ran cold down the back of his neck and across his forehead. There was a rock in his stomach, which he certainly didn’t eat. As he paced, every step relieved a tiny bit of pressure, while every footfall added twice as much weight onto his shoulders. His body quaked as he tried to breathe deeply enough to slow down time. It didn’t work.

There was a knock at the green room door, cuing an icy grip to nearly tear Tommy’s heart out of his chest. He jerked at the noise, gaze flying to the door like it might attack him. No, it couldn’t already be time to go, could it? There’s no way!

“Tommy?”

Relief hit the man in the chest so hard he nearly fell over. That voice wasn’t his assistant, it was Oliver Queen. Tommy cleared his throat, still trying to calm his spastic heart, before opening the door to give a shaky smile to his dashing boyfriend. Oliver stood in a suit not unlike Tommy’s, with a warm expression on his face and kindness in his eyes.

“Ollie.” Tommy’s voice cracked. He cleared his throat a second time, to no avail. That lump just wouldn’t get out of it. “What are you doing here?”

Oliver gave a small gesture to the room behind Tommy. “May I?”

Tommy moved aside and Oliver entered the green room, closing the door behind him. They moved to the love seat placed in the corner, Oliver’s hand on Tommy’s. They sat facing one another, Tommy a nervous wreck and Oliver as cool and collected as Tommy had ever seen. Of course, _Oliver_ didn’t have an entire business deal riding on this public declaration of openness and sincerity.

Oliver was the first to speak. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Of course I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I-”

The sheer power of Oliver’s deadpan stare interrupted Tommy. He hung his head. “No. I’m not okay.”

Oliver retrieved a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped Tommy’s brow. “It’s just a little public speaking, Tommy, you’ve done this tons of times before.”

“The entire future of my company didn’t ride on my successful speech abilities before,” Tommy replied. He closed his eyes as Oliver dabbed his nose and cheeks. Somehow, each touch of the handkerchief managed to absorb more and more stress.

“Hey. Look at me.” Oliver moved Tommy’s face to look him in the eye. “You’ve got this. I promise.”

Tommy’s face tried to smile, but failed. He just didn’t share Oliver’s optimism.

“Listen. I’ve got your back. If something happens up there, I will pull you out of whatever deep well you think you’re in.”

“I thought you liked the dark,” Tommy said with a sad chuckle.

“Common misconception. I much prefer the sunlight that is Tommy Merlyn.” Oliver smiled, and this time Tommy’s face managed to follow suit.

They both laughed. “That was so corny.”

“Got you to smile, though.”

“That’s not usually your M.O.,” Tommy said, taking Oliver’s hand. It was warm. Strong. Callused. It had killed people. But still, Tommy found comfort in it.

“Haven’t you heard? I’m branching out a little.”

Tommy took a deep breath, focusing on their intertwined fingers. “I can do this. I have you.”

“You have me.”

“I can do this.”

“We can do anything, Tommy.”

Tommy nodded. There was a knock on the door, drawing both men’s attention.

“Mr. Merlyn, they’re beginning your introduction in about two minutes.”

“Thank you, Sheila,” Tommy replied, his voice confident and strong. He felt Oliver squeeze his hand, and he smiled.

“Go out there and seize the world, Tommy Merlyn,” Oliver said through a grin. “I’ll be right there the whole time.”

Tommy leaned in and gave Oliver a long kiss before standing up. He adjusted his tie and unfolded his script. He scanned it with his eyes one last time before crumpling it up and tossing it over his shoulder. He moved to the door and gave Oliver a confident grin. Oliver responded with a thumbs up.

“I’ve got this.”

“And I’ve got you.”

 

“C’mon, Felicity.”

“I’m trying! Something’s wrong with the system!”

“I can’t keep this up by myself.”

“Believe me, I’m aware.”

Oliver stood atop a business tower in Star City, his bowstring pulled back as his breathing steadied. He aimed at a dark figure at the far end of the rooftop, his features masculine but unreadable. In fact, his skin shimmered with a black sheen, his clothes similarly masked by darkness. Only his eyes were visible, as they projected a violet light. Oliver had never experienced a metahuman _this_ transformed before, except maybe Firestorm.

The two of them had been fighting for some time. It had started on the street, but Oliver had quickly surmised the man’s powers came from the shadows cast by the street lamps, so he had decided to change venues to cast less shadows over their fight. He’d had two options: flood the area with light, or move to complete shadow. Unable to reach the baseball stadium, he’d grappling arrowed himself to the top of a nearby building in hopes he would be able to deal with this menace in lower light.

He let his arrow loose, but the other man stood his ground. It seemed to pass through him harmlessly, but Oliver recognized what had happened: he’d reformed his body to allow the arrow to pass through a small hole he’d made in his own chest which filled in again after the harm had passed. The entire fight had been a combination of that ability and the man stepping in and out of shadows to punch Oliver from unexpected angles. It was obvious he was being toyed with - this metahuman had the ability to do unspeakable things in the dark.

“You’d think a big shot like you would learn faster,” the man called.

Oliver shifted his weight in anticipation as the shadows across the roof moved, several of them sweeping across toward his feet. He jumped over one, only to land directly on another, but his foot fell straight through the rooftop. In an instant, Oliver was flipping head over heels toward the street, having been deposited on a dark side of the building by the man’s shadows. He reached for a tether arrow, but his quiver was empty, likely a side effect of being teleported.

The ground and the sky continually swapped places in Oliver’s field of vision, one becoming disconcertingly more prevalent. He had no way out of this without an arrow. How far had he fallen? Ten stories? Fifteen? He couldn’t be sure.

As he straightened himself out to catch as much air as possible, there was a flash of light and the sound of electricity crackling in Oliver’s ear. He turned his head to see the Flash running down the building beside him. Barry pushed off of the building and snagged Oliver around the waist before righting himself and landing at a dead run on the next building over, pushing them both up to the nearby rooftop.

When they stopped, Oliver turned to Barry and gave him a thumbs up. “Thanks.”

“I got you,” Barry grinned. “Also, got these.” He presented a fistful of arrows. “They were all over the roof. Picked ‘em up before I grabbed you. Thought you’d need ‘em.”

“Much obliged, Barry.” Oliver took the arrows and shoved him over his shoulder, keeping one in particular. “How did you know what was going on?”

“Felicity called when she couldn’t access the power grid,” Barry replied. “Cisco breached us over.”

“Us?” Oliver’s attention returned to the other rooftop, a few stories above his head. There were flashes of blue and white amidst consuming shadows seeping out over the edge of the building.

Barry huffed, swinging his arms in preparation. “Ready to take this guy down?”

Oliver nodded. There was a crackle of lightning, and suddenly he was standing amidst a battlefield. Vibe and Killer Frost lobbed projectiles at the shadowy figure, who absorbed the icicles and dodged the vibrations with surprising skill. Whenever one of the metas would pin him, he would escape into a shadow to appear elsewhere on the roof.

“Eyes!” Oliver cried, aiming his bow above the heads of all involved. He loosed the arrow and shielded his eyes.

Directly over the scene of battle, the arrow detonated in a brilliant explosion of light that illuminated the entire area. Killer Frost yelled in surprise, but not as loudly as their foe. With most of the shadows momentarily eliminated from the roof, there was nowhere for him to run.

“Cisco!”

A breach appeared directly behind their quarry just as Barry barreled into him, sending both of them through. The breach closed immediately after, right as the light overhead dimmed.

“Where’d you send them?” Oliver asked.

“The Pipeline. Barry should be able to incapacitate him before he gets his bearings.”

“Nice thinking with the flash bomb, but _ow,”_ Killer Frost muttered, rubbing her eyes.

Oliver huffed. “Sorry.”

“No, no. We got him. That’s what matters, or at least that’s what Caitlin is telling me.”

“We should go check on Barry,” Cisco offered. He opened a breach and allowed everyone to step through before following, himself. It closed behind them, leaving Star City much safer than when they’d arrived.

At the Cortex, a young man walked solemnly past with dampener cuffs around his arms, being escorted out of the building by Joe. Joe offered Oliver a curt nod as he passed by, which Oliver returned. Iris and Ralph stood near the command console, both of them grinning at the returned heroes.

Iris’s smile was infectious, as Barry and Cisco had already copied it. “Nice job, guys!”

“Thanks to Oliver,” Barry said.

Oliver shook his head. “You guys saved the day, not me.”

“Yes. More praising, please,” Killer Frost replied, giving Oliver a wink as her hair began to phase back to Caitlin’s natural auburn.

Barry approached Oliver and play punched him in the shoulder. “You totally had that,” he laughed.

Oliver averted his eyes to the floor before smiling at Barry. “Thanks. I really appreciate not being left as a smear on the sidewalk.”

“Nah. No biggie.” Barry leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on Oliver’s lips. “I told you back on the roof: I got you.”

“That you do.”

“You need a lift home?” Cisco asked.

“I got it, Cisco. Thanks,” Barry replied. He gave Oliver a playful grin. “Ready?”

Oliver sighed and prepared himself with a smile. “Let’s go.”

In the blink of an eye, they were gone.

 

“This week has been crazy,” Tommy mumbled as he collapsed onto Barry’s sofa. He flopped to his side, landing on Oliver’s lap, who just chuckled.

“You can say that again,” Barry said from the direction of the kitchen. He was digging in the freezer, pulling out an ice cream cake he’d procured earlier in the week. “How’s the news handling your big speech?”

“They’re eating it up,” Tommy said. He turned in place to his face was buried in Oliver’s shirt. He giggled, pressing his face further into Oliver’s torso.

“Hey. We have a celebration to enjoy,” Oliver chided, pulling Tommy out of his abs. “Don’t you want cake?”

“Oh, I’ll have my cake,” Tommy grinned.

Oliver just rolled his eyes and moved off the couch, leaving Tommy to flop about trying to get up.

“What are we celebrating again?” Barry asked as he started cutting the dessert into not-exactly-equal chunks.

“Really? You forgot?” Tommy stared at Barry in disbelief. “You, out of all three of us?”

Barry grinned. “Nah. Just teasing.”

Oliver picked up a plate with cake on it, holding it up like a toast. “To our first anniversary together,” he announced, looking at Barry and Tommy in turn, each one smiling back at him.

“And to all the things we aspire to be and do,” Tommy added.

“And may we always be there for each other, and support each other,” Barry concluded. “Happy anniversary, babes.”

They toasted, and settled in for a nice, quiet celebration together. No matter what came their way, they knew that, together, they could do anything.


End file.
